Opinions on Maxview Roam 5G 4x4 for Motorhomes?

[Big cliff]

Thinking of buying a Maxview Roam 5G 4x4
For the van
Question 1 are they any good
2 anyone on here got one fitted to there van
Any help would be appreciated from a new member

 

[starquake]

Should add esims are also great -> not all mifi devices support them of course. Our one in van does not today, but when we upgrade it I suspect I'll make sure I prioritise getting one, as it allows you to switch provider simply!

And as discussed on another thread, Free in France will do you ~ 200Gb for 20 euros with no contract. Why have a contract and any faff around it, just get one, get it registered onto the network and use for duration of your stay. Run out of data? get another, they are in most shopping sites.

 

[matbic]

Oh that’s good to know about Free in France 200G for €20 is very reasonable! No reason not to get one when in France.

Is there a list of good cheap SIM cards for each country? It would be very handy!

My challenge is driving around from country to country it’s a pain stoping to get a SIM, working out which one is a good deal, providing ID and having to keep a note of all the SIMs I have and how much data is on them …

So for example : I can get one eSIM from etravelsim.com it covers 36 European countries with various options including unlimited data for 30 days for $65 or 25G for $26

This compares quite well with a local French SIM card and is zero hassle. You can top up etc on the app. No need to go to a shop in each country we visit and the data is taken from the single “pot” so no waste as we zip about.

But the extra bonus feature of an eSIM if you chose well - it will give you access to a number of networks in each country and this improves your chances of a good signal.

I have just heard that the next generation of iPhones in the USA will not have a socket for a plastic SIM, the only way to get access will be with an eSIM. This must be a sign that plastic SIM cards are going to be phased out and replaced with eSIMs.

So for anyone investing in new equipment I suggest looking for one with eSIM support. It is already great and will probably get better as more phones require them.

I hope this helps - it’s great to hear what other people do about getting data. One thing I have discovered is that a lot of SIM products with the word “unlimited” in them are not when you read the fine print!! Also quite a few are so vague you literally don’t know what you will get until you try it. So sharing experiences is the only way to really know what you are getting with a SIM (plastic ones or e ones)!

All the best and happy travels!

 

[wfdTamar]

I have my main phone number as an E-sim so it can receive SMS's for codes for credit card transactions or some gov web sites. Then use a physical sim from the country I'm travelling in.

I always intended getting the Free.fr one, but always had a UK option. Maybe this year. They're 250Gb now for €20 or 140Gb for €13. Is it still a letter to cancel the plan though, or can you now do it online?

Forfaits mobile 5G/4G+ sans engagement

Un réseau mobile Free 5G/4G de qualité présent dans tous les départements de France metrop. Des prix avantageux. Pour toute la famille.

mobile.free.fr

 

[Kayak Kid]

Last year I fitted a Maxview 4G kit which has Teltonika Router and Roof Antenna. I tested it before departure and it worked fine at home. It came with a complementary data sim with a few GBs.

Prior to this for around 5 years we used a Huawei mifi unit to stream to our Smart TV and Firestick as we toured around the EU. That worked perfectly nearly everywhere, but I thought I would splash out on the Maxview Kit.

When we left last year on our 7/8 countries trip, I decided to hotspot off my iPhone initially using my unlimited data on my Tesco Mobile (O2) contract. I have an older contract which allows unlimited data roaming use as at home with no extra charges. I decided that I would wait until in the EU and needed a better signal before using my Maxview - which then had a 200GB data SIM card installed.

As it turned out, we travelled through 8 countries and my iPhone hotspot worked perfectly the whole time - during which we streamed tv, movies etc every night! We must have used absolutely hundreds of GB on my Tesco sim on the phone. We never turned the Maxview on at all, and the sim was never used or tried!.

This year I intend to do the same, but if I have any issues with my phone I will buy a ‘local’ data sim and use the Maxview.

.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[PaulW2]

Thinking of buying a Maxview Roam 5G 4x4
For the van
Question 1 are they any good
2 anyone on here got one fitted to there van
Any help would be appreciated from a new member

I’ve got a 5G. Not the 4x4 but works well. Have used in UK, Spain, Portugal.

 

[wfdTamar]

(can't seem to quote)

Kayak Kid - Why not try the Tesco sim in the Maxview?

 

[The Ice Man]

Morning gents,
Had a WiFi unit fitted to my Hymer at the Lincoln show it’s a 5G ready antenna, supplied by Motorhome WiFi fitted at the show only requires a 30mm hole in the roof which is covered and sealed by the antenna. Talking to the guy that owns the retail company that fitted at the show think it’s called LMC he’s does all the shows, and he was showing me the amount of stuff he’s doing outside the MHome market it seems he’s fitting the entire Scottish Water fleet with mobile WiFi units. As well as selected Scottish ambulance service units. Pleased with its performance I got 50mps in a field surrounded by vans at the Lincoln show.

Regards as always gents.

 

[Kayak Kid]

(can't seem to quote)

Kayak Kid - Why not try the Tesco sim in the Maxview?

I was thinking about doing that but:

1. I didn’t need to as hot spotting to my phone worked perfectly.

2. Probably more important to me was that if I put the Tesco sim in the Maxview, I would have no phone when out and about or when using the Maxview.

 

[starquake]

Oh that’s good to know about Free in France 200G for €20 is very reasonable! No reason not to get one when in France.
Is there a list of good cheap SIM cards for each country? It would be very handy!

I just look it up before I go anywhere, it changes quite rapidly, but my friend who lives in France about half the year every year (he has resident status) uses 3 in UK and Free in France.. One year when in US a while I got a prepay Virgin I think it was Mobile sim... esim last year from a esim provider (would have to look up in email who). In Thailand we looked up the best providers the day before we left for Thailand and purchased at airport as we left customs (all providers were there).

So for example : I can get one eSIM from etravelsim.com it covers 36 European countries with various options including unlimited data for 30 days for $65 or 25G for $26

Indeed but as you say is unlimited really unlimited (it's sometimes only 100G), and what perfromacne does it get. In reality yes it may roam to many providers, but if those providers only give 2Mbit on each it's as good as useless for things like watching TV. We look at "normal" van TV use being around for us ~ 200-300Gb a month if we are in the van a lot.

It's very hard to compare performance characteristics when it's simply sold on data volumes or direct, and I draw to point that I've actually tested roaming performance versus a local sim on numerous occasions and the actual native sim (unsurprisingly) usually wins, especially when a cell is congested, as it was in Spain. This doesn't happen in all cases though, 3 in Sweden when I was last there performs as well roaming as a native sim -> which may be because in Sweden 4/5g is rather good.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Big cliff]

Morning gents,
Had a WiFi unit fitted to my Hymer at the Lincoln show it’s a 5G ready antenna, supplied by Motorhome WiFi fitted at the show only requires a 30mm hole in the roof which is covered and sealed by the antenna. Talking to the guy that owns the retail company that fitted at the show think it’s called LMC he’s does all the shows, and he was showing me the amount of stuff he’s doing outside the MHome market it seems he’s fitting the entire Scottish Water fleet with mobile WiFi units. As well as selected Scottish ambulance service units. Pleased with its performance I got 50mps in a field surrounded by vans at the Lincoln show.

Regards as always gents.

Would you say they are worth the money then

 

[Kayak Kid]

Would you say they are worth the money then

Given what I said previously about using my iPhone as a hotspot for my Smart TV and also for tethering two iPads and my wife’s iPhone, throughout the UK and EU, I would have to say that the Maxview kit was therefore not worth the money - only because I haven’t had to use it. The Maxview kit may of course perform perfectly well if required and others will evidence that - and I am making no criticism of it. However in terms of value for money it might be like me, you could possibly hotspot your (or another) phone and get the same result for a great deal less.

Hope this is helpful,
Jim

 

[starquake]

Would you say they are worth the money then

I have one and yes, I've posted the reality of it's sheer facts I would have not got wifi at several of the sites this year (North norfolk and in Forest of Dean) , and even ones where my phone DID have signal the antenna on roof made the same connection using the same sim faster. Given I was working from the van on one occasion for that week this actually allowed me to work.

It's a fact they improve your performance, but it's more notable on the lower end of the signal spectrum than the higher -> and at 5 bars signal, it is also likely your phone will be better as those have a cat 18 or more likely higher modem if it's a 2 year old phone. The wifi devices are usually lower cat than a phone (which means on full signal they work better in laymans terms) (lower end 4g models will be cat6, higher end cat 12 or 18, but not usually over 18). The notable facts are as most campsites are more "rural" and not city centres, it's therefore logical that an roof antenna in a motorhome will be the best chance (other than starlink at £80 a month) of getting reasonable good enough to watch TV wifi.

If your use of a motorhome is to use city centre aires, and similar more built up campsites (example being say Gt Yarmouth's CAMC site), you'd get no benefit, as those are areas where you DO get 5 bars on a phone quite typically and the benefit case there is as mentioned effectively nil. St Neots CACC site and Gt Yarmoth CAMC sites would be my direct examples where a phone is better.

 

[Big cliff]

I have one and yes, I've posted the reality of it's sheer facts I would have not got wifi at several of the sites this year (North norfolk and in Forest of Dean) , and even ones where my phone DID have signal the antenna on roof made the same connection using the same sim faster. Given I was working from the van on one occasion for that week this actually allowed me to work.

It's a fact they improve your performance, but it's more notable on the lower end of the signal spectrum than the higher -> and at 5 bars signal, it is also likely your phone will be better as those have a cat 18 or more likely higher modem if it's a 2 year old phone. The wifi devices are usually lower cat than a phone (which means on full signal they work better in laymans terms) (lower end 4g models will be cat6, higher end cat 12 or 18, but not usually over 18). The notable facts are as most campsites are more "rural" and not city centres, it's therefore logical that an roof antenna in a motorhome will be the best chance (other than starlink at £80 a month) of getting reasonable good enough to watch TV wifi.

If your use of a motorhome is to use city centre aires, and similar more built up campsites (example being say Gt Yarmouth's CAMC site), you'd get no benefit, as those are areas where you DO get 5 bars on a phone quite typically and the benefit case there is as mentioned effectively nil. St Neots CACC site and Gt Yarmoth CAMC sites would be my direct examples where a phone is better.

Thank you

 

[dna]

Its like many other parts of life, there are a thousands (millions?) of ways to get internet connections , including in a motorhome.

A number of years ago I had a motorhome Wifi directional wifi antenna which I used to connect either to campsite wifi or to the free FON connections . That was bought as a kit with a small wifi access point already configured and cabled up. That worked really well - I used the York city free wifi network when on the Roundtree Caravan site (the site wifi was chargeable) and got me connections in a lot of europe. As well as the kit working, there was speedy help available from MotorhomeWifi if any problems occured. When the FON service closed down, it became a lot harder to find legitimate free connections. The connection speed was nowhere near those we expect these days.

Now Ive got an omni directional rooftop 4g antenna and an internal router set up with a sim card. I chose the combination (based on lots of articles on here and youtube). This was cheaper than buying an combined kit. As long as it works, its great but there is no fall back to a supplier if I get problems.

That's a very rambling way of saying that buying your own set of parts and assembling the solution will almost always be cheaper than buying a ready assembled kit. On the downside you don't get a single point of contact for support and you are relying on your own decisions / expertise to ensure the parts are well suited to each other.

The choice of Sim cards is a similar dilemma. good luck finding the right one for your needs. Personally I now use a pay as you go Sim from Smarty. I pay for 1 months unlimited data (in the UK) when going away and then let it lapse until the next trip. It was the best option for me when I first got it - there may be other cheaper Sims now available and I didnt bother about european roaming as I can't get away there at the moment

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[The Ice Man]

My unit is as new device so I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs further afield. We’re regular visitors to Orkney and Shetland so I’m looking forward to see how it deals with Shetland’s lack of coverage, if it works that far north and my missus can get a signal while we’re camping 6 feet off the beach on Unst then it will be well worth the layout £££
Happy days.

 

[matbic]

There is a useful website called cellmapper.net it can show you where each networks cell masts are and what antennas it has and the area each covers. It’s a bit of a fiddle to use. But you can see in advance which network is most likely to work!

Here is the location for Vodafone mast and EE (it seems O2 uses the same mast as Vodafone). Let me know if you want me to check any other networks for you.

EE has two cell masts locations on the island (First two pictures) and Vodafone and O2 only one mast . This site says there is no mast from the Three network on the island.

It’s a great website it is just a shame it is so technical to use. It is based on people driving around with an app switched on to detect cell signals, so it is not 100% complete but it is the best I have found. I find it very useful.

 

[Big cliff]

There is a useful website called cellmapper.net it can show you where each networks cell masts are and what antennas it has and the area each covers. It’s a bit of a fiddle to use. But you can see in advance which network is most likely to work!

Here is the location for Vodafone mast and EE (it seems O2 uses the same mast as Vodafone). Let me know if you want me to check any other networks for you.

EE has two cell masts locations on the island (First two pictures) and Vodafone and O2 only one mast . This site says there is no mast from the Three network on the island.

It’s a great website it is just a shame it is so technical to use. It is based on people driving around with an app switched on to detect cell signals, so it is not 100% complete but it is the best I have found. I find it very useful.



View attachment 857419

View attachment 857420

View attachment 857421

Thank you

 

[starquake]

Thank you

Don't think you can rely on it, Threes coverage map says both Shetland and Orkney have coverage, and looking at map theres at least 2-3 cell sites on Shetland (probably same place as EE ones as they share 3/4g sites often).

It is useful as a tool for aiming a (directional) antenna given the fact the providers often share locations, but most motorhome wifi type antennas are omni, not directional. As cellmapper is crowd sourced it's only as good as the users running their app.

 

[matbic]

Cellmapper is based on actual measurements from people with a mobile phone. So if it has a result on its map you know at some point recently there was an actusl signal there.

Unlike the marketing coverage maps you find on networks websites - which are based in calculated coverage and always seems over optimistic.

If cell mapper shows a mast near your planned stop over - it gives you an indication that you stand a chance of getting coverage. The data is produced by mobile phones which have omnidirectional antennas just like a mobile home antenna. It’s not a complete solution but I have found it’s the best way of predicting which network has a signal.

The way radio waves propagate is quite complicated and I have been surprised sometimes. But cellmapper is the only thing I have found that is better than wishful thinking when it comes to predicting if my wife will be watching Wimbledon or not and that is very important!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MattWithMoho]

Good afternoon MattWithMoho

The Oyster connect retails at £875 and is a 4g LTE/WIFI system which offers an unrivalled range compared to any other system currently available on the market. Unlike any other WiFi system on the market the Connect has the LTE module in the roof unit using a data cable that runs to the indoor control unit eliminating any loss that passive antenna systems can suffer from through the coaxial cables they use.
The connect currently is not available as a 5g unit. This is primarily due to the fact that pure 5g is unavailable in any rural areas and it is very unlikely to be for many years. There are versions of 5g that are transmitted using lower frequencies to allow the signal to travel further from the mast however these signals are very often no faster than 4g LTE. The connect also offers the user the option of connecting to local WiFi signals with this and LTE receivable up to 30km (depending on line of site) from the source.

If you or anyone reading this thread would like further information or advice regarding this system then please feel free to contact our office on 01858575928, pm me on here or email direct at anthony@oystersat-tech.co.uk

We appreciate any and all feedback on our products and are happy to discuss whether or not our systems will meet the needs of the customer. We pride ourselves on being an honest and reliable company and reviews with negative feedback from members that have not actually used our products or posted the correct information regarding them can be very detrimental to our business. We would therefore appreciate it if any future posts can be checked that they are factually correct before posting.

Kind regards,
Anthony Read

Hi Anthony OysterTech ,

A head of customer services once told my team that should a client ever give non-positive feedback online, you should respond respectfully, briefly and positively, then offer to resolve the issue offline. Probably not call them out for either not owning the product, or insinuating what they've written may not be "factually correct".

So, while you've engaged with me, and in the spirit of positively, here's some more details on the Oyster Connect to be feed back to the tech team. Note: I've used the product for over a year, and during that period for a solid 90days in Europe.

Price
To clarify, the unit is £875, however all end users will need add in fitting costs, hence TOTAL price to people on this forum will be around £1,100

APN Issues
While in multiple EU countries, a UK mobile provider (EE) naturally piggy backs on other networks, however the Connect does not autosense these, you have to populate them, a real pain. Also, even parked up signal will drop from one provider, or move to another, where the APN will need re-inputting, even though the save button has been selected.

Overheating
The device (as with everyone) will be located in a cupboard, the connect suffers from overheating, tested many times, if the outside temp is 25c+ the connect will get too hot and stop working. Placing spacers behind the device creates a small airflow and raises this to 27c, still not ideal though.

Wi-Fi Identification Speed
When arriving on a site and loading the portal, this is very slow to enable, then slow to then locate Wi-Fi connections. However if the user shows patience, it locates multiple networks, certainly other devices are unable to e.g. Laptops, iPhone, iPad - Dual antennas working excellently

Captive Portal redirect
This without any doubt is the main issue causing me to not recommend this device. When the Wi-Fi network is selected, should there be a redirect to a portal login screen, the Connect does NOT work with all service providers (at least 50%), as such no redirect happens and you can't login to use the Wi-Fi. I tried this with iPhone, iPad, laptops, different internet browsers, so it's not the end user device.

Hopefully the above helps, should you wish to engage further on this forum with me, I'm happy to assist, and most certainly other potential clients with discussing issues further. If in doubt, re-read my first paragraph.

Also, while you're here, can you use the Oyster Connect router with a Starlink Gen3 connection?

Kind Regards, Matt

 

[matbic]

bnesim.com has a great feature you can top up your eSIM from the app, so if you are running low on data or changing countries you can just do all these changes instantly on your phone app - it’s all so convenient.

Recently I have not been impressed with bnesim.com their European eSIM worked great in UK and Switzerland but not in France or Germany. There are so many alternatives I just deleted the eSIM and installed one from https://www.getnomad.app/ it’s £1.05/Gbyte but has worked all over Europe with lots of networks available in France,Germany and UK. This is a great feature of eSIM no contracts and only pay for what you need so changing suppliers is super easy.